3/5 (physical book)

CW: Murder, homophobia, mental abuse, physical abuse, reference to drugs

Going into this book, I knew that there are a lot of mixed reviews about it, but I wanted to be able to create my own thoughts on it.

I buddy read this book with a friend of mine, so it was nice to be able to talk about the parts were liked, we didn't like, and the ones we were confused about. And I really had high hopes for this book after the first and second parts. I thought that, hey, this could be a 4+ star read for me. But then the third part came around and blah...

Part I

I was sucked into the story from the first couple of chapters. The story picked up with a vigorous plot, introducing us to a cast of characters who were all put in a situation that was out of the norm for most of them. Bronwyn, Cooper, and Addy all had clean records and good academic standings, so why were they all placed into detention for cellphones that weren't even theirs? And Nate, the detention regular, was caught for a phone, as well? What are the odds? Seems unlikely...And Simon was the odd man out, and soon enough, he was the center of attention. I immediately wanted to find out what happened.

The characters are all so vastly different, but they create a circle of interest and suspicion as their stories unfold. I like how Karen M. McManus tells the story of each character without having to do major flashbacks and "before" scenes. I think that mixed with the multiple perspectives would have been too overwhelming. But learning about each of the characters through not only their perspectives, but also the perspectives of the others was engaging and helped to tie everything together.

Part II

I did not enjoy part two as much as part one, but I still thought it was engaging.

Addy's character really develops and discovers who she wants to be in this part. I was rooting for her since the beginning because her relationship with Jake was sooooooooo toxic. I wanted to see her become independent and realise that she can do so much without him.

We also learn some things about Cooper in this part, and the way they are presented made me suspicious of him in regards to the murder. In Part I and Part II, Cooper was presented as this A+ individual, but there are little things mentioned about him, like the unnamed texts and secret meetings, that made me unsure if he was really as amazing as he was said to be. And at the very end when he met up with Kris, the way Cooper said "we should talk about the Simon thing" made him sound SUPER guilty in the matter.

Part III

I did not love this part. Everything felt really rushed and underdeveloped and underwhelming. I felt like the involvement of Jake was given away by all of the "control freak" comments being made by Addy's sister and friends, so I was not super shocked to find out that he was involved. Same with Janea. There was a lot of focus on her, albeit not for the exact reasons I was expecting, but she was kind of given away early in Part II I feel.

I will say, though, that the book kept me reading. It was engaging, the ending just did not feel completely satisfying to me. I was hoping for more explanation as to how Simon pulled everything off so perfectly without many hiccups. But I suppose that is the luxury of fiction.

I also was annoyed with how Nate treated Bronwyn after he was released from juvenile. I understand that the experience was traumatic and intense for him to say the least, but I feel like to go from the way he was treating her before to the way he treated her after was unexpected. It made him out to be a real jerk.

Epilogue

I did like the epilogue and how it brought everyone together through Bronwyn's perspective, but I feel like it held similar to Part III of just being underwhelming - I was hoping for more. I am sad it ended the way it did, but I still have to stay that the story engaged me and had me wanting to find out what happens next.

Overall, though I was initially sucked into the story and the intense plot, I was not a huge fan of the writing style. It just felt a little flat and underdeveloped at some points, and it seemed like some ideas could have been more complex. And I did not think I was going to be a fan of four different perspectives telling the story, but I think that McManus did a nice job with this and made it feel like an intentional decision. I probably will not read the second companion novel to this story, but I think this book is worth a read if you are looking for a quick-paced young-adult mystery.